Md. Army captain killed in Afghanistan chopper crash

Capt. Sara Knutson 1 of 5 service members killed in crash

A Carroll County woman is one of five U.S. service members who were killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan last week.

The Defense Department confirmed over the weekend that 27-year-old Army Capt. Sara Knutson Cullen was on the chopper when it crashed a week ago during a rainstorm.

Cullen's parents said she was fiercely patriotic and the kind of person who lit up any room she walked into. The newlywed absolutely loved to fly and was talking about applying to law school in the near future.

"She just was a girl with many talents and many facets, and I think she fit in with any person doing any type of thing," said Mary Messina, Cullen's godmother.

Those who loved her said Cullen was the kind of person that couldn't help but stand out from the rank and file.

Cullen was a Black Hawk helicopter pilot who also loved fashion -- her interests and passions were about as diverse as you could get -- but flying was her passion, her family said. Her mother, Lynn, said when her daughter's helicopter went down last week during a training mission in Afghanistan, she died doing something she loved.

Messina said she couldn't agree more.

"She just loved it. In fact, at her wedding, her cake topper was a helicopter with a bride and groom on it," Messina said. "She was into sports, but she was also very academic. She was a lot of fun and had a great personality."

Cullen graduated from Liberty High School in Eldersburg in 2003 with grades that earned her a spot at West Point's class of 2007.

After she graduated from the academy, she embarked on a career in the military that took her all over the world, but as much as she had seen and done, her life was just beginning.

In November, she married Chris Cullen, another pilot she met in the Army. The pair had settled in Georgia, and when she was deployed to Afghanistan in January, her husband followed as soon as he could with a job working for a civilian contracting company. He's the one who escorted her body home, her family said.

"I think it's tragic for all of us who lost her, but she was doing what she wanted to do, and we just have to remember she packed a lot into her short life," Messina said.

Cullen's father told WBAL-TV 11 News the one thing to include in a story about his daughter is the other four soldiers who died with her. He said one thing she loved most were her fellow soldiers, and he believed that's who she would be thinking of now.

Officials in Afghanistan said there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash.